Product Description
EX THE KINKS Vintage 1972 Hiwatt Custom 100w DR103 Amplifier Head
EX THE KINKS Vintage 1972 Hiwatt Custom 100w DR103 Amplifier Head
Every now and then, an amplifier comes along with a story that gets more extraordinary the deeper you dig. I personally bought this 1972 Hiwatt DR103 from a former Hawkwind roadie, who had owned it for many years. When I was buying it, he happened to mention almost in passing that the amp had a connection to The Kinks. That little comment started the investigation. I began digging into the amplifier’s history myself, and what I uncovered was quite remarkable. The underside of the amp bears a period “THE KINKS” stencil. This photo matches with various other stencils of the time. The first tick! I then contacted Hiwatt Amplification with the amplifier’s serial number, 3839, and received an incredible confirmation:
“The serial number of this amplifier aligns with production records from mid-1972 onwards, with a build schedule for The Kinks’ USA and television performances in 1973, most certainly being used for those performances.”
The second tick! I then went back through the contemporary photographic evidence. Photographs from January 1973 show The Kinks using Hiwatt amplifier heads during their BBC television appearance, with further photographs documenting Hiwatt equipment being used by the band on their subsequent USA tour. The third tick! So what initially sounded like an offhand comment from the previous owner led to a trail involving the The Kinks stencil, the amplifier’s original serial number, Hiwatt’s own production records, contemporary photographs and television footage. And that is what makes this amplifier so special to me. I didn’t set out to buy a Kinks amplifier. I bought an amp from a former Hawkwind roadie who casually mentioned a story — and then I did the digging. What I found was an extraordinary body of evidence connecting serial number 3839 to The Kinks’ 1973 television appearance and USA tour. You can see footage from the BBC appearance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7kOTZF6O8w
I am now offering this incredible piece of history for sale, priced just a little higher than the cost of a non-Kinks example from the same period. Sometimes the best stories are the ones you don’t know you’re buying. Cosmetically in wonderful condition. Internally original except it has a replacement transformer, but otherwise good. It’s just been fully serviced by my amp tech, so it’s ready to go! Grab a real incredible piece of history!
